Vegetable Platter

'Brahmin's Cafe' Inspired Chutney

Brahmin's Coffee Bar also referred to as Brahmin's Cafe is one of the most iconic eateries in South Bangalore. If you have been living in Bangalore for a while & you have not visited this place, you need to change that soon

Situated in the bylanes of Shankarpuram, This hole in the wall Cafe has only 5 items on their menu, Idli, Vade, Khara Bath, Kesari Bath & Filter Coffee

Idli, Vade & Khara Bhat are served with a generous helping of their Famous Chutney

Their Pillowy Soft Idlis bathed in generous amount of Chutney is a must have

Yes, their Chutney is what makes Brahmin's Cafe unique. Their coconut chutney is made with equal parts of Coconut & Hurigadle & is of pouring consistency. You can almost drink it. The best part is, you can get unlimited refills of the chutney at no extra cost :)

How can one miss the elderly man sitting at the entrance of the restaurant with a huge pot of chutney & a big ladle. Almost everyone gets a generous second or third helping

I tried to recreate this Chutney at home & I must say this was really good. If I am making chutney to be eaten with Idlis, I always like it to be of pouring consistency. The Chutney soaks up the Idlis really well

I Do Not claim this to be the Original Recipe that Brahmin's Coffee Bar makes, this is just my humble attempt to recreate it at home

You Will Need

1 cup Grated Coconut
1 cup Roasted Chana Dal/Hurigadale
5 Green Chilies
A small knob of Ginger
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
2 inch ball of Tamarind
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 teaspoon Sugar (Optional)
A big handful of Coriander along with stems
Salt as per taste

For the Tempering

A sprig of Curry Leaves
1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
2 teaspoon Urad Dal
2 fat pinches of Hing
1 tablespoon Oil

How To

In a mixer blender, add grated coconut, Roasted Chana Dal, Green Chilies, Ginger, Cumin seeds, tamarind, Turmeric powder, Sugar & salt. Add half a cup of water little at a time & blend into a smooth paste

Finely chop coriander leaves & the stems & add it into the mixer & give it a couple of whizzes until the coriander leaves almost blend into the chutney & there are tiny green speckles floating

Add Half a cup of water or more to make the chutney into a pouring consistency. Check for salt.

Heat cooking oil. Temper with mustard seeds, Hing, Curry Leaves & Urad Dal.

Add the Tadka into the chutney & mix well

NOTE:

I did not add Sugar

The water measure is approximate. Make your chutney a little on the spicier side so that when you dilute it with water, it still remains spicy. That's the reason I have used 5 Green Chilies here

It is important that you add equal parts of Coconut & Roasted Chana Dal to get the right flavor

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, by Deepthi Shankar

Chutney

Peanut Chutney - With Coconut

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, by Deepthi Shankar

Baking

Iyengar Bakery Aloo Bun /Palya Bun

Iyengar Bakery delicacies have always had a special place for Bangaloreans & especially the 90s Kids. Much before McDonalds & other Burger joints made their way to Bangalore, We had Iyengar Bakeries.

A quick stop at the neighborhood bakery for Veg Puffs, Aloo Bun, Honey Cake was something we looked forward to. And also, the softest Milk Bread ever.

These humble bakeries are still holding their fort amidst the culinary shift that has happened in the city in the past decade. This somehow makes me a very happy Bangalorean as Iyengar Bakeries are very symbolic of the good old 'Namma Bengaluru'

If I have to pick 2 favorites from the Iyengar Bakery Menu, It is their Plain Vanilla Sponge Cake & Aloo/Palya Bun

Palya Bun is a perfect pick me up for those 4 PM hunger pangs. The Potato stuffing makes it pretty filling just enough to hold off until dinner time

Makes 8 Slightly Big or 10 Medium Sized Buns

You Will Need

400 grams All Purpose Flour or Bread Flour
2 teaspoon Instant Yeast (No Proofing Needed)
1 cup Milk
1 tablespoon Milk Powder
1 teaspoon Sugar
2 tablespoon Softened Butter
1/2 teaspoon Salt

In a wide bowl, Add All Purpose Flour/Bread Flour, Salt, Sugar, Milk Powder, Instant Yeast & mix well with yours hands. Add Milk little by little & make a sticky dough

You Will be tempted to add a bit of flour but do not. Continue kneading with your hands for 15 minutes. If using a stand mixer, knead for 6-8 minutes

Half way in between, add softened butter & continue kneading.

The dough would have turned very soft & smooth after all the kneading. Coat it with a little bit of oil & place in a bowl & wrap with cling film & set aside for 1 hour to double in size

I placed the dough in the Instant Pot & set the Low Yogurt mode for 1 hour to enable fast proofing

By the end of 1 hour, the dough would have doubled in size. Knead again for 10-12 minutes to knock off all the air. The dough is now ready to be filled with the Potato Filling.

While the Dough is resting for an hour, proceed to make the Potato Stuffing

To Make the Potato Stuffing

You Will Need:

4 large Potatoes (I used Gold Potatoes)
2 medium sized Onions - sliced lengthwise
5 Green Chilies
Half teaspoon Mustard seeds
A big pinch of Hing
1 teaspoon Urad Dal
1 teaspoon Chana Dal
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
A sprig of Curry leaves
Coriander leaves
Salt as per taste

How To:

Clean & scrub the Potatoes. Cut into halves & Pressure cook with a little bit of salt for 1 whistle. Let the pressure settle down.

Drain the water & once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skin & roughly mash them into chunks.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat cooking oil. Splutter mustard seeds. Add Hing, Urad Dal, Chana Dal, Green Chilies & Curry Leaves. Sauté on low flame for 30 seconds until the Urad & Chana Dal are golden in color

Add sliced onions & turmeric & fry until the onions turn pink, Add the mashed potatoes & salt & mix well

Turn off the heat & add chopped coriander. Set aside & allow it to cool

The Stuffing is now ready

Now, begin assembling the buns for the second rise.

To Assemble the Buns before baking

Divide the dough into 8 or 10 equal portions. Divide the Palya/Potato Stuffing into 8 or 10 equal portions as well

Flatten each dough into a disc with a rolling pin. Place the potato mixture in the center & close the dough on all the sides

slightly flatten them with your palms & place on the baking tray.

Repeat the procedure for each of the discs. & arrange them on a baking tray with enough space in between them

Cover with a cling film or a damp kitchen towel & set aside for 1 hour for them to rise again

Baking the Buns

Preheat the Oven to 200 C or 395 F for 5 minutes

Remove the cling wrap/kitchen towel. Brush each of the buns with milk & place it in the oven & bake for 18-20 minutes

Pro Tip For Turing them into the Softest Buns

Once the Buns are out of them oven, brush them generously with butter & wrap them with a damp kitchen towel & allow it to cool on the wire rack or a tray for 1 hour. The buns turn super soft. I slightly warm them in the microwave for 15 seconds before serving

When the buns came out of they oven, they were a bit crusty & I was honestly quite disappointed. Then I remembered a chef using this technique of wrapping dinner rolls in a damp towel to make them soft

I checked them 20 minutes after wrapping them in a damp towel & it had become quite soft. By the end of 1 hour, after the buns had cooled down completely, they were super soft just like the bakery ones.

So, I highly recommend trying this hack.

I saved a couple of buns to be eaten the next day. I put them in an airtight box & refrigerated them. I Microwaved them for 1 minute the following day & they were as good as new. So, I guess they stay well for a day when refregerated. Beyond that, the Potato Stuffing would not taste as fresh

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, by Deepthi Shankar

Appetizers

Cabbage Pakoda

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, by Deepthi Shankar

Baking

Homemade Cheese Pizza

I not into baking a lot of cakes & cookies but I love savory bakes. I have since long wanted learn to bake a good Pizza at home. My dad loves baking as well especially it it has anything to do with yeast :)

So we finally tried our hands on the basic Cheese Pizza. It is always nice to bake with someone who is as enthusiastic as you in the kitchen

After baking Pizza for 3 consecutive days and experimenting with 2 different kind of doughs , I can finally say that I am eligible to write this post.

Since this was my first time making Pizza from scratch, I wanted to perfect the basic Cheese Pizza. We all love Cheese Pizza don't we? I like mine with lot of Olives & red chilli flakes sprinkled on the top

WHAT KIND OF YEAST DID I USE?

Eversince the Lockdown has happened, there has been a sudden demand for yeast & I was not able to find yeast in any of the stores.

I was finally able to get some Fresh Yeast (The one that comes in cubes & has to be refrigerated) & honestly I was quite skeptical about it but the pizza turned out rather well

So you can use any kind of yeast

Fresh Yeast

Active Dry Yeast or

Instant Yeast

Make sure you get the conversions right & use only the right amount of whichever you were using

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MAKING THE PIZZA DOUGH

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Makes 4 Medium Crust Pizzas of 11 inches each

You Will Need:

600 grams All Purpose Flour
25 grams Fresh Yeast Or 8 Grams of Active Dry Yeast ( I used Fresh Yeast )
400 ml water
3 teaspoon Salt
Half teaspoon Sugar
6 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

HOW TO:

In a sauce pan, heat Water until its lukewarm. To this, add Yeast, Salt, Sugar & Oil. Cover & set aside for the yeast to activate for 15 minute

When the mixture turns frothy, it means that the yeast is active. Now In a wide bowl, add the flour & mix in the yeast mixture & knead well slowly incorporating all the flour

The flour will turn slightly sticky so add some more flour as you knead but not too much

When the dough turns fairly smooth, continental kneading for 20-25 minutes by hand. You can put your food processor to use if you have one. If using a machine, knead for 8 minutes.

Make 4 medium balls of dough, Coat the dough with EVOO & place it in a bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel & let it proof for 2 hours.

I used the Yogurt Mode in the Instant Pot for one hour to proof the dough

After the allotted time, the dough would have doubled in size.

Place each ball in individual containers or ziplock bags with enough room for it to rise again.

Refrigerate for a minumum for 3-4 hours or for a maximum of 3 days. Ideal would be to refrigerate for 24 hours

Pull out the dough at least an hour before you plan to bake the Pizza

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BAKING PIZZAS

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MEDIUM CRUST

When you are ready to make Pizzas, you will need to pull out the dough out of the refrigerator One hour in advance so that it reaches room temperature

You Will Need:

Pizza Dough
Pizza Sauce (I used Store Bought)
Mozzarella Cheese
Basil leaves
Salt
Garlic powder
Dried Oregano
Black Olives
Olive Oil
Dry Chilli Flakes (Optional)

HOW TO:

Preheat the Oven to 500F or 260 C for 30 minutes

Take the dough out of the container, lightly flour the working station, begin stretching the dough with your hands.

If you feel that the dough shrinks back when stretched, allow it to rest on the counter for another 15 minutes. Keep the dough covered with a damp cloth

Alternately, you can even roll the dough using a rolling pin.

Sprinkle a little flour on the kitchen counter & Roll or uniformly stretch into a circle of 11 inch diameter.

Transfer the stretched/rolled dough onto a parchment paper & brush it lightly with olive oil

Using a pizza cutter, lightly cut the pizza into triangular slices

Apply pizza Sauce, Garlic, powder, dried oregano Add Mozzarella Cheese generously, sprinkle some salt & top with sliced olives.

Put the parchment paper onto a cast Iron Pan. I used my trusted Lodge Cast Iron Pan.

Bake at 500 F for 8-9 minutes (Oven Temperatures will vary)

8 Minutes is ideal. The crust is cooked well. I baked a couple of pizzas for 9 minutes, the cheese was more brown at the top & the crust was a tad crunchier

After 8 minutes, Take out the pizza from the oven & transfer it onto a wide plate & gently cut the slices using a pizza cutter

Sprinkle with chilli flakes & garnish with fresh basil & serve hot

NOTES:

Oven temperatures will vary so keep eye on the Pizza while its baking

It is very important that the oven be hot. So, Preheating for 30 minutes is a must

Always slightly cut the pizza dough into slices before you add the sauce & toppings as its easier to slice them later on

Always always always refrigerate the pizza dough. The 1st day we baked the pizza about a couple of hours after the dough was proofed. And we made some more pizza with dough that was refrigerated for 24 hours. The 2nd batch turned out better in texture

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, by Deepthi Shankar

After School Snacks

Instant Oats Paddu

A quick Paddu Recipe to the rescue when you don't know what to cook for breakfast. Also makes for a great after school snack or weeknight dinner

Last year, We had bought a jumbo sized pack of Instant Oats from Costco & since we add only a tablespoon of oats into our smoothies, it was hardly getting used up. My Mum was visiting us & she started experimenting a lot of Indian recipes using Oats.

She makes this really delicious Veggie loaded Oats Upma ( A recipe that I plan to share soon ) & then this Paddu also happened.

The texture of this paddu is softer than the ones made using Dosa batter but is nonetheless tasty.

Its an easy instant recipe when you'd like something quick & nutritious & especially if you want to use up your packet of Oats :)

You Will Need:

1 cup Quick Cooking Oats
Half Cup Fine Rava/Chiroti Rava
1 tablespoon Rice Flour
1 medium sized Onion - Finely chopped
1 small Carrot - grated
6-7 green chilies
1 teaspoon Grated Ginger
A handful of Fresh Coriander
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 cup Curds
Salt as per taste

How To:

In a pan, dry roast Oats & set it aside to cool. Once cool, grind it into a powder using a mixer-blender

In the same pan, roast Fine Raw until aromatic. Set aside

In a pan, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add onions & Green chilies & sauté for a couple of minutes. Add ginger & grated carrots & sauté until the carrots are slightly cooked. Turn off the heat.

In a wide bowl, add powdered Oats, Rava, Rice Flour sautéed Onion-carrot mixture, Curds, Baking Soda, chopped coriander & Salt.

Add water to make a fairly thick batter. Set aside for 10-15 minutes

Now Proceed to make Paddus.

To Make Paddus

Grease the Paddu maker with oil. Turn on the heat. When its fairly hot, add a ladle full of batter into each indent & cover with a lid. Let it cook on medium flame

After a minutes, with the help of a small spoon, flip the paddus & let them cook the other side as well.

After a minute, Take them out of Paddu Maker & serve hot with Peanut Chutney

Grease the Paddu Maker again & repeat the process to make more Paddus

NOTE:

These Paddus have a slightly sticky inside due to the addition of oats which is why they taste best when its Hot & freshly out of the pan. Its not very suitable to be carried in a Lunch/Snack box

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, by Deepthi Shankar

Karnataka Recipes

Congress Kadlekai & Peanut Masala (Raja Special)

For the uninitiated, Congress Kadlekai is basically Spicy Roasted Peanuts & is a Bangalore Speciality. This snack has a little bit if history to it & was created way back in 1956 by Sreenivasa Brahmin's Bakery located on DVG Road, Gandhi Bazaar

Apart from eating it as a snack, it is also added to a lot of Bangalore style chaats especially Churmuri & Tomato Masala.

For the longest time, Congress Kadlekai was something that we bought only from Iyengar Bakeries in Bangalore & I never attempted making it at home, but its really easy to make it at home, the only effort is to roast, de-skin & halve the peanuts. Once that is ready the rest is easy

You Will Need:

2 cups Peanuts
1 1/2 teaspoons Red Chili Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Turmeric powder
1 teaspoon Pepper Powder
2 big pinches of Asafoetida/Hing
2-3 sprigs of Curry Leaves
2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
Salt as per taste

How To:

In a heavy bottomed pan, dry roast peanuts until they are crisp & the skin turn slightly reddish. Transfer into a bowl & allow it to cool

Place the peanuts on a clean kitchen cloth & tie the edges into a knot & rub the peanuts well. This helps the skin come off easily Split the peanuts into halves & set aside

In the same heavy bottomed pan, heat oil. Once its moderately hot, add Asafoetida, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, pepper powder & curry leaves. Let it sizzle on low heat for about 30 seconds. Add the peanuts & Salt & turn off the heat.

Once its cool, Mix the spice mix & peanuts with your hands, crushing the curry leaves

Allow it to cool completely before storing them into air tight jars

Peanut Masala (Raja Special)

Bangalore style Peanut Masala, also known as Raja Special is made using Congress Kadlekai mixed along with the usual suspects like, Onions, Tomatoes & Carrots. It is a very popular starter served in restaurants & local bars all over the city

It also makes for a great protein packed snack. Once you have Congress Kadlekai ready (Home made/store bought), It takes 5 minutes to put this together

To Make Peanut Masala (Raja Special)

Half cup Congress Kadlekai
2 tablespoon finely chopped Onion
2 tablespoon finely chopped Tomato
2 tablespoon grated carrots
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon finely chopped coriander
1/4 teaspoon salt

How To:

In a wide bowl, mix all the ingredients together & serve as a starter

NOTE:

I have noticed that finely chopped onions when kept aside for a long time, turn bitter. These onions when added to a chaat tends to lend a very bad taste So chop onions a few minutes before you plan to assemble this dish

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, by Deepthi Shankar

Indian Breakfasts

Karnataka Style Dosa/Dosae

Dosa or Dosae as we call in Kannada, is one of Kedar's all time favorites. He could practically eat Dosas for every meal & not be bored of it

This post had been sitting in the drafts for the longest time, 9 years to be precise :) And I thought this should finally see the light of the day.

Please Read the NOTES section to get an idea of what varieties can be used to make these Dosas

While you can use Idli Rice, the key to Golden Colored Crispy Dosas is the use of Sona Masuri Rice & Poha

Difference Between Karnataka Style Plain Dosa/Dosae Batter & Other States from South

Most households in Karnataka make separate batters for Idli & Dosa. Yes, and this is because,

We do not add Fenugreek Seeds/Methi Seeds to our Idli batter but we add them to our Dosa Batter

Our Idli Batter is very slightly coarse because we like grainy idlis so we cannot use the coarse Idli batter to make to make Dosas

Also, We add a couple of handfuls of thick poha/Avalakki to our Dosa batter & we may or may not add Poha to the Idli batter depending on whether the batter is ground using a mixer or a grinder (We will come to that when I do a detailed post on Idlis)

You Will Need:

3 cups Rice (See Notes)
1 cup Urad Dal - I used Gota Urad Dal
1 tsp Methi/Fenugreek Seeds
2 handfuls of Flattened Rice/Poha - The Thick Variety Only
2 tsp Moong Dal - Optional
Salt as per Taste
Oil to Make Dosas

How To:

In a colander, measure out everything except Salt & oil & clean under running water until water runs clear

Soak in a wide bowl with enough water & Urad Dal Swells up upon soaking. Soak for 4-6 hours

Do Not discard the water used for soaking as it aids in fermentation

Use a wet grinder or a mixer to grind into a smooth batter. I use a mixer & grind the batter in 3 batches, adding little water at a time

Pour the batter into a large vessel, Add Salt & mix with your hands, cover & set aside in a warm place. It should take anywhere between 8-18 hours to ferment depending on the weather.

Once the batter is well fermented & you are ready to make dosas, Stir the batter a couple of times.

Heat a good cast iron griddle or a non stick griddle, once hot enough, pour a ladleful of batter in the centre & spread in circles. Drizzle oil along the edges & roast on medium flame until it turns golden brown & crisp.

There is no need to flip the dosa. fold into a semi circle & enjoy Hot Dosas with Coconut chutney or Chutney Pudi & Ghee

NOTES:

If you are using a wet grinder to make the batter, you can use 4 cups of rice for 1 cup of Urad Dal. Since, I make the batter in a mixer, I stick to using 3 cups

I used Regular Sona Masoori Rice. But my Mom uses Dosa Rice (Availale in India)

You can even use Idli Rice (used to make both Idlis & Dosas) or Half portion of Idli Rice & Half portion of Sona Masoori Rice

Many soak Urad Dal & Rice separately. It does not make a difference in my opinion

Adding Poha makes the dosas crisp & contributes in getting that nice golden color

You can even make this batter using Basmati Rice. I once ran out of Sona Masuri & all that was available at that moment was Basmati Rice so I went ahead & soaked it & it turned out just fine